[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking. Baren Digest Monday, 18 January 1999 Volume 06 : Number 416 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Gary Luedtke Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 10:04:50 -0500 Subject: [Baren 2708] A bit of bad news ... Tragic news, Dave. Very sorry to hear about Mr. Susumu Ito, as well as Mr. Shintaro Shimano. What a sad loss to the world even beyond his friends and family. And, on that more selfish motive you mentioned, the traditional crafts edge even closer to extinction. Here we are just becoming conscious of the magnitude of their contributions, and they are taken away before we can absorb some of that knowledge to help sustain the craft they dedicated their lives to. I guess if there's a lesson here, it's to more fully appreciate those that remain, and try to learn as much from them as possible so as to sustain the craft at least for another generation. In the mean time, through communications such as the web, broaden the world's knowledge of and appreciation for this art form so that there may be enough demand to keep it going. Concerning your statement that Mr. Ito's photos in Margaret Kaneda's book would be the last, I am thinking that there may be others. I ran across a book at the art museum here called something like "Tokyo Craftsmen" and I seem to recall a section there on Mr. Ito, though it may possibly have been someone else. If I see it again, I'll look more closely. It did feature a woodblock carver, as well as lantern makers, temple builders, porcelain doll makers and so forth. Well it seems that a little more weight has been placed upon our shoulders to keep this art alive, so we must find some inspiration in this tragedy to persevere on. And Dave, the importance of your Encyclopedia of Woodblock Printing becomes ever more indispensable toward that purpose! Gary ------------------------------ From: jimandkatemundie@juno.com (James G Mundie) Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 13:38:51 -0500 Subject: [Baren 2709] critiques, essays and sad tidings Jeanne wrote: >I think it would be "cool" to have a critique on line. What great >benefits we could derive from this !!! >A story; >While teaching a painting class I had a guest artist critique my class >project. He really tore those students up and down. They were in >shock. Nothing nice was ever said, only harsh critiques. >The next day only half of the class showed up. ... >Any way , perhaps we could get our "puter heads" together and figure >out how to hold a viable critique. I am sure that even the very pros among us >would gain from our constructive thoughts. >Any takers? Ah, you've got me excited about the possibilities for a good honest crit. Back in my school days, I had an instructor of the "old guard". Now well advanced into his eighties, Roswell Weidner came through art school in the 1930's when some of his instructors would attack student's drawings and canvases with a straight razor and reduce others to tears as a means of cutting out the weaklings. A very Darwinian approach that while harsh also had its merits. Anyway, I started to take a drawing class with this hardened fellow. After the first two classes, I wanted to drop out because I had never come across such a rude bombastic man in all my life. Phrases like, "Geez! If that were a violin you'd have sawed it in half by now," and "I could drive a truck around that outline" were his stock in trade. I can be a stubborn guy, however, and stuck with it. One day, Roz looked over the figure I was drawing and said to me, "You know, you usually draw pretty well. What is it? A bad day?" With that back-handed compliment, I felt I had arrived! From that point on, I began to realize that Roz knew what he was about. Those harsh comments were meant to make us better, toughen us up, trust our own decisions. Sure, some people never drew the figure again after they'd been told their drawing looked like "a bunch of dead swans," but that's just the sort of thing they needed to hear. I miss his critiques. Every other critic was as nicey-nicey and bland as milk toast... everyone afraid to step on somebody's toes or have that sort of scrutiny turned on themselves. Nobody gets better by being coddled! Now, I'm not expecting a blood-letting here on [Baren]. We're all too gentle and polite (as it should be) to let that happen, but I hope that we can all offer and be receptive to good constructive criticism. I also hope that the rest of [Baren] not actually represented in the exchange will feel free to chime in once Dave posts the images online. I'm game, Jeanne. *** Julio wrote: >As a newbie...in this style, I would like to use the prints as a >learning tool. >Because of such diversity among the "29" >I thought it would be helpful if we were to include a small essay or >card with a "this-is-how-I-did-it-stuff". We can go about details online, but >when I am looking at a print later (months/years) it would be nice to know >things offline like: > >baren or press ? >brayer or brush ? dry or wet paper ? paste & pigment or just color? >watercolor or oil ? brand ? >number of impressions to achieve each color, if multiples >total number of prints in batch >pine, cherry or plywood ? any patches or inserts ? >special tools used for special effects >printing multiple colors in one block ? >origin for idea >Is this your usual style ? or is this new for you ? Do you do mostly >colors or B&W ? Now I see what you are getting at. However, I think this is all information that could just as easily be done online, too. Why not let these questions pop up to lubricate conversation about the images? You could always print out the responses and keep them with your folio. I'm not trying to discourage you from including this information with your prints. It just may be that it's a bit late in the game for everybody to do this (I've actually received a couple of cartons in the post already). Frankly, the thought to do this with my own print never even occurred to me until you mentioned it. However, that being said, anyone who wants to write up a little descriptive essay or some such thing to include with their prints is welcome so to do. *** Dave wrote: >The ... last blockmaker here in Tokyo, Mr. Shintaro Shimano, was admitted >to hospital in mid-December, and has since had his entire stomach removed. >He's going to be laid up for quite a while, and it is far from clear as to when, if >ever, he will be returning to work. and >Carver Mr. Susumu Ito, about whom I wrote in my newsletter recently, >passed away the day after I finished the final printing on my poets' series. This sad news proves further Dave's comments about the precarious state of the traditional way of woodblock printing in Japan. If the loss of two such craftsmen can cause such a blow to those that remain, how much longer can the craft survive? One might argue that the loss of these two men makes what we are doing here on [Baren] all that much more important. Perhaps through Dave's efforts with his own work and the experiences and information we pass between us, [Baren] can insure that 'pockets' of woodblock printing will survive around the globe well into the next millennium. Mise le meas, James Mundie, Philadelphia USA ------------------------------ From: Gregory Robison Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 10:21:55 +0300 Subject: [Baren 2710] Re: A bit of bad news ... Kampala, 17 January 1999 Dear Dave: Please accept my condolences for the loss of Mr. Susumu Ito. To Gary's very apt reflection that this should jolt us into appreciating the ones who are left, I would like to add that, in a way, Mr. Susumu Ito had an enviable end: if he was, as you report, chatting quite merrily about the art days before he died, he and all around him were lucky. We are all going to die. May we each be granted the privilege to work and think lucidly right up to that point! (He reminds me of the master carver of one of your columns, called out of retirement to execute his "opus mirabilis" then promptly expiring...) In the meantime, while you are no doubt right in lamenting all the secrets that died with him, much of that experience was probably untransferrable, as is so much personal experience. On the other hand, he may have already transmitted to you the one thing that truly can be passed from one generation to the next: a love and appreciation of the craft, a humility before the achievements of the great practitioners of the past, and the commitment to carry it on...until it's your turn to drop! This is how the chain of tradition stays alive. May you have many, many years of printing ahead of you, and to Mr. Ito, our thanks, respect and farewell. Requiescat in pace! Greg ------------------------------ From: LaCinzia@aol.com Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 19:23:07 EST Subject: [Baren 2711] Re: mailing instructions for exchange participants Dear James: Evidently I signed on to the Baren too late to get the particulars of the print exchange. Could you please beam them over to me? Don't know if I can have an edition ready by Feb. 1, but I'd like to try. Thanks! Cyndy Wilson ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 17:40:47 -0800 Subject: [Baren 2712] Re: A bit of bad news ... Dave. So glad to hear how well you show when. Gratifying feeling to be recognized and appreciated for the work load of 10 years. . Also nice to know it was a financial shot in the arm. Sorry to hear about Mr Shimano and Mr Ito. Thanks for the small print. i notice you used a metalic pigment. I believe you have mentioned before how you achieved this. I will go look in the Pedia. Cheers for now. Graham ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 22:02:23 -0600 Subject: [Baren 2713] re: sad tidings & more DAVE writes: "Julio: On page 31 of that book you just bought is a bunch of pictures of Ito san. Enjoy them, because there aren't going to be any more ..." Welcome back and congratulations on your exhibition. Yes, it's sad to read thru the book and study the photos after receiving your news. It seems that Mrs. Kanada main theme in her book is to make a statement about the lack of artisans and how the craft is disappearing. Even back when the book was written (1989?) she points to both Shintaro and Itoh as being part of the last surviving masters. One thing that attracted me to this particular book was that almost all the prints reproduced in the book deal with the subject of the making of ukiyo-e prints. So you get a representation of how things were done in the 1800's. DAVE; Why do they all depict ladies doing the work ? The other thing that I noticed is that the photos are very well taken and show a great deal of detail about the woodblocks. Having said that, it is not a large book (85 pages) and most of the how-to-stuff is already covered in the Baren encyclopedia. JAMES; okay, I understand your reasoning behind my request for "more" info. Will defer to online discussion on technique. JEANNE: I am open for critique also. However as Graham often says, BE GENTLE. My work is truly in the pre-pre-newbie category and I think for those of us at this stage....technique will be a weak point and our prints will stick out among the group like a sore thumb. Just kidding (about being gentle).....critique is good, it makes you want to reach to new heights and show others a better side. DAVE; Regarding the cherry blocks.... A photograph is worth a thousand words..... and a virgin Shintaro woodblock could be used to teach future aspiring craftmans what to aim at/for.....there is no substitute for running your fingers thru a nicely planed woodblock and letting the soft light reflect it's beautiful surface....when I was apprenticing to a master violin maker, I would always borrow parts to study and measure and compare against my very crude carvings.. Could you see thru holding on to one of your unused blocks for future generations to study...? or is this really the end of the line? Just a thought... JULIO ------------------------------ From: Jean Eger Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 21:58:52 -0800 Subject: [Baren 2714] Re: Baren Digest V6 #415 I guess everyone probably knows about the Southern Graphics council meeting this year, at Arizona State U. in Tempe, Arizona. But in case you don't, here's the web site: http://www.asu.edu/cfa/art/SGC.html Are any of us going? James, do you mean that you can send the UPS packages back C.O.D.? I take my UPS packages right to the UPS office, so I get a low rate. I could enclose that return postage, but would it be enough? I got my video card working again, and enjoyed looking at Roger's prints. What are you going to do with all those extra prints, Roger? Jean ------------------------------ From: Jean Eger Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 23:04:28 -0800 Subject: [Baren 2715] Re:Hiroshige I forgot to mention that I went to see the Hiroshige exhibition at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, Friday. It's quite amazing to see print after print of beautiful bokashi blends and tiny cartoon-like people, with wonderful detail and exquisite color and design combinations in the clothing. There were lots of diagonal composition elements in the landscapes, and also plenty of horizontal prints too. The most memorable things about the exhibit were its beauty, and the relatively small size of all the prints (oban size). It was a little like looking at all the surprisingly small Van Goghs in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Of course I had to get right up close, looking through my bifocals and checking the registration of all the prints. There were hundreds of people there because it was just three days before the end of the exhibition, and the museum had been running television ads the week before. It is somewhat sobering to know how prevalent the copying of the masters is. One can't help wondering, were those prints on the wall the REALLY REAL Hiroshige prints? Wouldn't the real ones have faded by now, even if they had been in Michener's drawer? Well, if the print is an excellent reproduction, why would one cares? It is still great woodblock art. They definitely weren't digitally reproduced. There was nothing disappointing about seeing 53 beautiful oban-sized views of the Tokaido road, with porters climbing steep hills and wading across large expanses of wetlands. Then there were some views of Edo, and some flowers and birds. There were three oban panoramas (three vertical obans side-by-side.) None of them were what we might call bad prints (badly printed prints.) They were all pretty, pretty, pretty. However, it was disappointing to leave the show prepared to buy a nice book of Hiroshige prints and not have any there for sale. There were quite a few prints for sale, however, for around $250 each. Around the corner from the little store, were two videos running continually. One showed Japanese craftsmen making prints (Dave wasn't there). I could see quite well what they were doing, even though i don't understand Japanese. One mysterious thing, though. The printer layed the paper down on the block deftly and then heartily barened it. Well, if I had done that, all the fibers would have come right off the back of the paper! I just can't believe he does that with wet paper! And when he mixed the ink with the paste, it wasn't paste, but some yellowish looking liquid that was poured into the bowl. He printed the print and didn't even look at it when he took it off the block and put it on the pile. I wondered if one of those guys could be one of Dave's friends, live, or unfortunately deceased. My teacher, Katherine McKay, had an education exhibit of tools in the case next to the video. There was also an educational component for kids which was lots of Japanese clothing, the kind that were worn on the Tokaido road trip. There were little kids and their moms trying on those clothes! I lingered until 3 pm when I hiked 1/4 mile to my car, so I could get out of the city before rush hour. Jean Eger ------------------------------ From: David Bull Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 17:26:44 +0900 Subject: [Baren 2716] A few replies ... Greg wrote: > in a way, Mr. Susumu Ito > had an enviable end: if he was, as you report, chatting quite merrily about > the art days before he died, he and all around him were lucky. This is very true, and I don't feel that his passing was a 'tragedy'. If my life turns out as productive and full as his did, then I will consider it well spent. To come to the end so suddenly is, I guess, the way that we would all like to go. > while you are no doubt right in lamenting all the secrets > that died with him, much of that experience was probably untransferrable, > as is so much personal experience. This also is very true. I have kept my 'memo' books from the earliest visits to him, and I know that there are many points in there that he explained to me a long time ago, but which simply went 'over my head' at the time. Until I had developed enough experience to understand the surrounding 'background', the actual 'lessons' were meaningless. I have learned this the other way 'round, when answering questions from visitors here. There are many things I just don't even try to explain anymore, as I have learned that they will not be understood ... at least until that person has developed more experience. I think it was said many times back in the early days of [Baren] ... we don't learn by asking, we learn by doing ... But even so, I sure would have liked more chances to 'ask' ... (By the way, the producer of the upcoming documentary tells me that she is going to send me a dubbing of all the out-takes of the filming at Ito-san's place; not just the parts that made it into the finished program. I'll take care of them well, and I guess one day when the 'net is a bit more developed, I'll be able to make them part of the Encyclopedia ...) *** Julio wrote: > Could you see thru holding on to one of your unused blocks for future > generations to study...? or is this really the end of the line? A small secret ... I've got a box here in my storage room that contains six beautiful oban blocks planed by ... not Shimano san (Shintaro is his _first_ name, by the way), but by his master, the man who retired about fifteen years ago. I ordered them on my very first trip to Japan, back in 1981, and they have been in storage ever since. They were very well 'cured' before he planed them, and certainly haven't been harmed by the extra storage time. I don't know that I would say they are 'priceless', but I'm certainly going to think long and hard before I dig into any of them! *** Jean wrote: > One mysterious thing, though. The printer layed > the paper down on the block deftly and then heartily barened it. Well, if > I had done that, all the fibers would have come right off the back of the > paper! I just can't believe he does that with wet paper! I noticed your comments in earlier posts Jean, about 'balls' of paper fibre coming off, etc. Almost certainly this is because you were trying some unsized paper (Matt I believe, contacted you on this ...). Properly sized quality 'hosho' paper will take an unbelievable amount of punishment before it starts to give up. I always take a few strips of it (about one inch wide and two feet long) to the demonstrations, and enjoy twisting it into a short 'rope' and getting the two heaviest men in the audience to have a miniature 'tug-of-war' with it. I've yet to have anybody succeed in tearing it. Only an inch wide! *** I've had a blast browsing through all the back messages from the past few weeks. This is what it must feel like for a new member - to go back into the archives and read all this stuff going by. What a nifty group we have here! It seems just about the right mix of technical stuff and general friendly conversation. Special thanx to Ray and Graham for helping to keep things rolling along smoothly! I do notice one thing, and I myself feel this quite often. [Baren] members are coming to seem like personal friends, and I would like the chance to speak sometimes about things that are not specifically print related: My recent 'visit' is one example. What is life like in Kampala for Greg, is another example. But if I myself start 'general' chatting on this forum, the floodgates will open, and we will rapidly lose our focus, and our value. I've been thinking about how we can handle this 'problem' (that's the wrong word!), and I think I have a solution. Sit tight, and I'll let you know in a couple of days ... In the meantime ... Cut! Print! Dave ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V6 #416 ***************************